Full Breakdown
Mondo Duplantis’s “Gold” Becomes Anthem for Inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship
8/21/2026, 9:16:44 PM
Core Event: Release of the Official Anthem
World Athletics announced that “Gold,” a track written and performed by Swedish pole-vault world-record holder Armand “Mondo” Duplantis, is the official anthem for the first Ultimate Championship. The song, co-written with Carl Silvergran and Oscar Chase (who also produced it), is now available on major streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music. A music video filmed at Budapest landmarks—including Fisherman’s Bastion and Heroes’ Square—was released alongside the track. Duplantis is scheduled to perform “Gold” live in the stadium to close the competition on September 13.
Background & Context: The New Ultimate Championship
The World Athletics Ultimate Championship is a biennial, three-day meet slated for September 11–13 in Budapest, Hungary. It brings together Olympic champions, world champions, Diamond League winners and the year’s top-ranked athletes to compete for a historic prize pool of $10 million. Individual event gold-medalists will receive $150,000 each. The format limits field-event entries to finals only, while track events feature semifinals and finals, with no caps on the number of athletes per country.
Data & Statistics
- Prize pool: $10 million total, with $150,000 awarded to each individual event gold-medalist.
- Streaming reach: Duplantis has accumulated more than 11 million Spotify streams across his music catalog prior to the release of “Gold.”
- Event dates: September 11 (opening) and September 13 (closing performance). (Date Ledger)
- Venue: Budapest, Hungary – the host city for the inaugural edition.
Official Statements & Responses
World Athletics described the anthem as integral to the championship experience, noting that “Gold” will be woven into broadcasts and the live-event atmosphere to connect stadium fans with global audiences. President Sebastian Coe emphasized that the Ultimate Championship is intended to showcase the sport’s top talent both on and off the track, and expressed enthusiasm for Duplantis’s role as creator of the anthem.
Verbatim Quotes
- “I wrote the song around representing something that’s a lot bigger than yourself,” — Mondo Duplantis, two-time olympic champion
- “The Ultimate is purposefully designed to showcase the talents and passions of our sport’s biggest stars, on and off the track,” — World Athletics President Sebastian
Why It Matters
The collaboration bridges athletics and music, highlighting Duplantis’s dual career as a world-class pole vaulter and emerging recording artist. By featuring a song authored by one of the sport’s most recognizable figures, World Athletics aims to broaden the event’s appeal and reinforce the message that sport and music can unite diverse audiences. The substantial prize pot and the championship’s “champion-of-champions” format signal a strategic effort to elevate athletics’ global profile and create a marquee event that recurs every two years.
